Rumor Patrol: Michael Sheen To Play Blofeld In Bond 23

The inevitable wild rumors have already been started about the next Bond movie, which is currently untitled and is being referred to as simply Bond 23 for the time being. British tabloid newspaper The Daily Express is reporting that Frost/Nixon star Michael Sheen is in talks to not only star in Bond 23 as the villain, but to play the legendary Bond villain, Blofeld. Before we get onto more info and discussion on this “news,” just know that this is an UNSUBSTANTIATED RUMOR.

It was recently announced that Peter Morgan is one of the writers for Bond 23, which may be the basis of this Sheen rumor. Morgan wrote Frost/Nixon, The Queen and The Damned United, all of which starred Sheen in leading roles, so Morgan being added to the writing roster of Bond 23 may have sparked rumors of Sheen’s involvement because of their past collaborations. The Daily Express’ source is “unnamed” (read: questionable and unreliable) but nonetheless they seem to have a quote backing up the story:

“Michael is hot property right now and it is felt that he’s the right man to bring Blofeld back to life… Michael was a Bond fan in his youth, so this would be a dream role for him.”

The character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld was first appeared in From Russia With Love, and was last seen in the non-canon Bond film, Never Say Never Again (in case you couldn’t work it out for yourself, he was also the inspiration for Austin Powers’ Dr. Evil). If this news turns out true (which it’s very unlikely to be), Sheen would bring Blofeld to the big-screen for the first time in over 25 years.

Beyond the rumor in general being ridiculous (really, would Blofeld fit in with the new incarnation of Bond?), there are several reasons to doubt the legitimacy of this so-called news. One is that The Daily Express’ source is unnamed, another is that Bond 23 doesn’t even have script or story… or director yet. Even if Sheen would probably make a good Bond villain in general, him playing Blofeld is pretty ridiculous. Unless we get wind of a more reliable source, count Sheen being Blofeld in the next Bond installment as extremely, extremely unlikely.

For the sake of discussion: What do you think of the notion of Michael Sheen being Blofeld in Bond 23? Do you think he would make a good Bond villain in general?